A range of pins are used in surgical procedures, particularly in the orthopaedic field. Pins are often used as markers to help facilitate alignment during a procedure, or to hold instruments such as cutting guides in place temporarily. Pins may be a range of sizes but often pins used in such procedures a very small and may not include a head portion which would otherwise make extraction easier.
Removal of such pins requires the body of the pin to be gripped strongly so that it can be successfully withdrawn from the substrate without breaking, and without the removal tool slipping from the pin. This is particularly difficult with pins of a very short length or which have short protrusions available to be gripped.
In a surgical environment easy of cleaning and sterilisation of instruments is also paramount. Instruments that can be quickly and easily cleaned between uses reduces surgery time and consequently improving patient outcomes.
A known pin removal tool is disclosed in WO2014/102541. The tool disclosed here operates using a body with a jaw component, actuated by two lever arms. An initial movement of the lever arms grips the pin to be removed and continued movement of the lever arms causes the pin to be displaced from the substrate. The pin is gripped by entering the jaw component through an aperture in the nose of the tool, then the pin must extend through the jaw component and out the other side in order to be effectively gripped by the opposing forces at each end of the jaw. This limits the use of the tool to extraction of pins that are long enough to extend through the jaw component, as shorter pins that are unable to reach through the jaw component are unable to be adequately held with any force.
In addition, removal tools such as those disclosed above contain a number of different components and working parts in order for the tool to operate. Instruments of multiple parts are less desirable in a surgical environment, as they are more difficult to clean and have an increased likelihood of one or more parts breaking or not performing properly, affecting the ability to use the entire tool.